The average American eats 90 chicken wings per year. Almost 1.25 billion wings are consumed by Americans on Super Bowl Sunday alone! A Buffalo-style wing is an un-breaded chicken wing that is deep-fried and coated in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based hot sauce and melted butter. They are traditionally served hot, along with celery sticks with cooling blue cheese or ranch dressing.
The Buffalo wing was reportedly invented in 1964 by Teressa Bellissimo at her Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. Allegedly, they were delivered chicken wings instead of the chicken necks and backs they used to make their spaghetti sauce. At the time, chicken wings were inexpensive, undesirable, and used solely for making stock. Teressa tossed the wings in the deep fryer, coated them with a hot sauce and served them to bar patrons, who loved them. The ultimate American bar food was created and, to the dismay of chickens everywhere, adapted to local tastes throughout the country, ramping up chicken consumption in the US significantly.
Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
Equipment
- Large baking sheet with wire baking rack
- Large bowl
Ingredients
- 4 lb Chicken wings, cut into drumettes and flats
- 4 tsp Baking powder (about 1 tsp per pound)
- 4 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 tsp Each: smoked paprika, ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder
- 1 tsp Each: chili powder, light brown sugar, fresh lemon zest, mustard powder
- Homemade blue cheese dressing or store bought Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing, for serving
- Celery sticks, for serving (add baby carrots, if desired)
Instructions
- Prepare Wings – Line a baking pan with foil and place wire rack over. Thoroughly dry chicken wings with paper towels and place dried wings in a large bowl. Combine wings with baking powder and salt. Toss to evenly coat. Place wings on the wire rack, leaving a little space between them. Wings can be cooked after resting for 2 hours but will be juicier if they are put in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours uncovered.
- Cook Wings – With oven rack in the upper-middle position, preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Add wings and cook for 20 minutes. Flip wings and cook until golden brown and crisp, 15 to 30 minutes longer. Flip a few times towards the end.
- Serve Wings – For buffalo wings, place Buffalo Chicken Wing Sauce in a large bowl, add cooked wings and toss to coat. Serve hot with a blue cheese or ranch dip and celery sticks.
Notes
- For BBQ wings, buy your favorite BBQ sauce or, better yet, try one of these homemade BBQ sauces for optimum goodness. Memphis Red, Alabama White, or KC Sweet.
